Re: Call for hosts for GUADEC 2009
- From: Behdad Esfahbod <behdad behdad org>
- To: rms gnu org
- Cc: jdub bethesignal org, foundation-list gnome org
- Subject: Re: Call for hosts for GUADEC 2009
- Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:39:10 -0400
On Tue, 2008-04-22 at 22:57 -0400, Richard Stallman wrote:
> GNOME is People. Do you have any evidence that the Moroccan *people*
> are opposed to the values GNOME stands for?
>
> I think the Moroccan *people* are not the issue.
>
> "Those people have an oppressing
> regime, ignore them" is not a really compelling idea to me.
>
> If the purpose of holding GUADEC in any given place were paying
> attention to the people who live there, that would be a valid
> response. However, the purpose of GUADEC is for GNOME developers to
> meet. I don't think that the response relates to that.
One of the deciding factors when considering GUADEC bids is that which
user community can better use a boost. So, I wouldn't say that paying
attention to local people is not one of the goals of GUADEC.
> Political endorsement of the government of the country where GUADEC is
> held is not its purpose either, and I would not suggest choosing the
> place to hold it by comparing the laws or policies of various European
> countries. (Thanks to the EU, they are all bad in the areas that most
> directly relate to us.)
>
> But there are some situations where you cannot ignore politics.
> Recall how people ridiculed the holding of the WSIS conference in
> Tunisia, a country that imprisons people for what they say on the
> Internet. Morocco may be a similar case -- I am not sure.
Originally coming from a country that definitely fits that bill too, I
don't appreciate being exclusive to people based on their government.
Moreover, where do you set the limit? What about China for example? We
are having a GNOME.Asia Summit there this year... Did boycotting ever
solved any problem BTW?
--
behdad
http://behdad.org/
"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little
Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, 1759
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